A woman drinks a Pimm’s before watching a match at Wimbledon.
Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Wimbledon would not be the same without a thirst-quenching Pimm’s, but this year visitors to the annual tennis championships will be served the beverage without the customary plastic straw.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club announced on Tuesday that no plastic straws would be used in its bars, cafes and restaurants during this year’s Wimbledon fortnight.

Hundreds of thousands of cups of Pimm’s are sold at the tournament each year – a large number served in plastic containers with plastic lids and plastic straws that can be taken on to the courts. Last year more than 400,000 plastic straws were used during the tournament.

But this year as part of a wider sustainability plan, Wimbledon will not be using plastic straws during the tournament. Recyclable paper straws will be used instead.

The UK uses an estimated 8.5bn straws a year, according to the Marine Conservation Society, and plastic straws are one of the top 10 items found in beach clean-ups. A single plastic straw can take up to 500 years to decompose, and the buildup can wreak havoc among marine life.

As part of a drive to reduce waste from “single-use” plastics, chains including JD Wetherspoon, Wagamama, Costa Coffee, Pizza Express, Waitrose and All Bar One have started phasing out plastic straws – in some cases replacing them with paper substitutes or offering them only on request.

In April, more than 60 independent British music festivals committed to banning plastic straws and other single-use plastics from their sites by 2021. Under the Drastic on Plastic initiative, led by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), plastic drinks bottles, plastic straws, glitter, plastic food trays, cable ties and toiletry bottles will be removed from festival sites.

Also unveiled at the Wimbledon press conference on Tuesday was the provision of a paper bag option for merchandise bought at shops during the event. This will complement the existing multi-use, oxo-degradable plastic bags that are gradually being phased out.

The Wimbledon chief executive, Richard Lewis, said there would also be 87 free water refill points available for public use in the grounds, as well as 21 water fountains. The number of water points had nearly doubled since 2014, he said.

Recycling point signage and waste collection at the tournament is also being improved, although in 2017 only 1.4% of waste generated over the fortnight went to landfill.